Veteran Tesla engineering executive moves to Redwood Materials

Tesla has bid farewell to one of its longstanding engineering executives, Colin Campbell, who will be moving on to another company with a strong connection to Tesla, Redwood Materials.

Campbell’s departure, after an impressive 17-year stint at the company, has raised eyebrows, especially considering his significant contributions to Tesla’s rise as an automotive and technological powerhouse.

Campbell started on his journey with Tesla back in 2006, and in the 17 years that followed he had many significant contributions to the company. His first position with Tesla was the one he held the longest, serving as Traction Inverter Electrical Engineer for seven and a half years from August 2006 to January 2014. From 2014 through 2019 Campbell worked his way up the ranks to Manager, then Senior Directory, before becoming VP, Powertrain Engineering in June 2021, a position which he held until this month.

In a post on Linkedin, Campbell announced he has chosen to move on to become Chief Technology Officer at Redwood Materials, a company founded by none other than JB Straubel, Tesla’s co-founder and former CTO, and recently appointed board member.

“The most fulfilling part of working at Tesla – and the most difficult to leave behind – is the people. The mission and work attracted such talented, passionate, purposeful, kind, and dedicated colleagues. What a joy and privilege it has been to work alongside you and to see the impact of your work, globally, across so many industries. At Redwood, I will continue to work on electrification – but this time, ensuring broad EV and clean energy adoption by solving problems further upstream!”

While Campbell may no longer be employed by Tesla, there is a good chance he will likely still be working closely with the automaker. With Straubel’s aforementioned connections to Tesla, especially his recent decision to join the board, it would not be surprising to see Tesla partner in the near future in some way with Redwood, a company which aims to recycle lithium-ion batteries and create a circular supply chain for electric vehicles and clean energy products.